Chasing Paradox

by Foreshadow

2. Stones of Everfree

Derpy, dazed, lay splayed outside of the ruins of her home, staring in terror as a massive creature on two legs, scales made of stone, walked away, its huge tail crashing into the tops of buildings as it passed. She had no name for the monster before her, and it scared her to death.

“Dear Celestia,” Derpy choked. “My... My house...”

Beside her, Time Turner righted himself and he held her hoof worriedly as they looked around. Streets rumbled with more of the prowling monsters, and, quickly, Time Turner yanked Derpy across the street and down a small alleyway. Above them, the sky was black, boiling over with electrical clouds and Ponyville seemed as grey as the stone beasts that prowled her streets.

“What the hay is going on?” Derpy asked.

“I haven’t a clue,” Time Turner said, ears drooping. “I thought maybe you knew.”

Derpy shook her head and bit her lip, looking up at the black sky and said, “Maybe I can get a feeling of what’s going on.”

She spread her wings and took off quickly-- as she went up, she could see Ponyville was being trashed. Her heart thudded into a cold pit in her stomach as she saw ponies running below, ducking into houses. A pink orb shone brightly in the center of the mess: protection around the library. Derpy was just thinking she and Time Turner should head there when she heard a sort of buzzing sound and felt a tingle all through her wings. Before she could do a thing, she felt her body go rigid and hot, and sudden pain seared through her for just a second. Her wings crumpled and she tumbled backwards, a blurred panoramic of the town and sky colliding in her eyes.

Lightning... Great.

She squeezed her eyes closed tight and waiting a second, spread one wing to spin and right herself. The ringing in her ears faded out to a desperate call of her name and when she was able to look again, she found herself whisked into the hooves of Time Turner. She slammed into him and knocked him onto his back.

“Yikes! Sorry!” she said.

She awkwardly tried to untangle herself from him, but to her surprise, he hugged her close, muttering, “Thank goodness you’re okay.”

Derpy felt herself face heat up and she leaned back a little to brush a hoof through her mane and situate herself. She was shocked to see that they were on a roof.

“How did you get up here?” she asked.

Time Turner sat up and rubbed his back a little, taking her by the shoulder with one hoof and saying, ears drooping.

“Excuse me, Derpy, but you do realize you were just struck by lightning, don’t you?”

“It happens,” she said dismissively, and smiled. “Thanks for worrying. But... seems like all of Ponyville is in this freaky cloud. You know what lightning is?”

“Seems so. Did you see any other pegasus... pegasuses? Pegasi? ...Did you see any others up there?”

Come to think of it, Derpy hadn’t, and she shook her head. Time Turner grimaced and got to his hooves-- what could it mean? It can’t be a coincidence!-- and looked down from the roof with a gulp.

“To answer your question, I just... I’m not actually sure, I just thought about wanting to catch you and I ended up here.”

Derpy stared at him blankly and then tilted her head as she remembered something.

“Like how you got into my house?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he said, eyes widening. “Well, fancy that. Very strange. Should we see if we can get down?”

Derpy was about to say she felt safer on the roof, but a glance around at the monsters told her that the roof merely put them at eye level. Not only that, but one was approaching, and fast. It wasn’t an anomaly though: with a quick glance around, Derpy was alarmed to see several of the beasts heading in their direction, seemingly with purpose. Her jaw dropped and Time Turner, frowning, said, “Perhaps the lightning attracted them.”

“Horsefeathers,” she grumbled. “C’mere.”

He approached her with confusion and she grabbed him under his forelimbs, spread her wings and flapped off the roof, lifting him off and down to the ground. He was still so heavy, though, that it was an even more awkward landing that usual.

Despite being a little winded, they hurried to hide behind the house, ducking low and slinking in the as they heard the heavy, powerful footsteps.

“We need to get to Twilight’s place,” she said at a whisper.

“Twilight?” Time Turner repeated curiously.

“Oh, right, sorry, forgot you didn’t know her,” Derpy said as they slunk along the wall. “Twilight Sparkle is the most powerful unicorn in town.”

The stallion nodded and then gently; worriedly made a shhh sound. Derpy shut up immediately; even tried to hold her breath. Despite how hard she hoped it would work, her blood turned to ice as a giant monstrous face, almost dragonlike in appearance, but built like a tank, shoved its way in-between the houses and let out a growl that sounded like slabs of rock grinding against each other. Time Turner glanced over his shoulder for just a second and was immediately on his hooves, using his head to push Derpy upright and shouting, “Run!”

Derpy whinnied and together they raced away as fast as they could. Despite her panic, Derpy tried to remember the directions to the library. Dodging down alleys and side streets, the two galloped, hearts pounding-- left, right, left again and again, until a blockade of rock stopped them in their tracks. Derpy’s mind raced and she staggered and tried to spin, seeing only Time Turner’s frightened face before she was yanked upwards into the sky, wrapped in cold, unyielding stone.

Below, Time Turner saw on her face the utter terror that gripped him with icy talons through his whole chest. This wasn’t the time to freeze, though-- couldn’t afford to even for a second. Before him, the beast towered, his friend clutched in its fist as it stared with glittering yellow eyes and growled low and long, almost sounding like the word pegasus.

He felt anger boiling in him as the beast turned away from him and the little pegasus in its grasp cried out. Gritting his teeth, Time Turner did the only thing he could think of-- he ran at it full tilt, even as he heard Derpy shout at him not to.

“Put her down, you--!”

He couldn’t think of an insult bad enough for a creature like this. He didn’t know what else to do-- doesn’t matter anyway, crossed his mind as he slammed his weight against the creature’s leg in what he was sure was in vain. It was just as surprised as he was when it stumbled. Time Turner almost laughed, grinning despite everything and he drew back and charge again. He felt something-- energy maybe?-- deep through his body and his vision flashed white and before he knew it, he was on the other side of the beast running at it, tossing his body against its other leg. Somehow, it was falling forwards again-- didn’t matter, he knocked into it and it didn’t seem to know what to do. It stumbled to the side, and in an effort to keep its balance, let Derpy go.

She yelped and covered her eyes, and before even he knew it, Time Turner caught her on his back and took off, shouting, “Woo-hoo!” as he went. Derpy quickly put her forelimbs around his neck; her heart was pounding faster than ever.

"You're insane!" she yelled.

“I’m also awesome, did you see that!?!”

He was at a gallop now, all but floating, grinning as he ran. He felt Derpy push on one side of his neck and he turned his head. There was that pink sphere that the pegasus had mentioned, surround a building made completely from a living tree. His eyes lit up and he turned over his shoulder to ask Derpy a quick question about it-- his words slipped from his tongue as he saw the blocky face of a third stone beast coming up behind them with jaws parted. He let out an involuntary squeal said a mental Nevermind! before trying to push himself even faster. On his back, confused, Derpy turned her head to see and let out a wail when her eyes locked with the gemstone-like orange ones of the monster on their tails.

Within seconds, hearts pounding, the two were engulfed in pink and Time Turner spun on his back legs, cringing as the beast’s huge head slammed straight into the barrier and the whole body crumpled. Derpy gawked and slid off her friend’s back and turned to look at him as he plopped down onto his rump beside her.

“Phew! Glad that worked,” he said through deep breaths.

“Me too,” Derpy agreed; she put a hoof to her chest and took a deep breath. “Thanks for saving me.”

“It was nothing,” Time Turner assured her. “I mean... Well, it wasn’t really nothing, but what I mean is... Of course I would. Of course.”

He shot her a grin and Derpy felt her cheeks heat up. She took another deep breath to steady herself and watch the beast in front of her get up and cast a spiteful glance at them before prowling away, arms held close to its chest and tail swishing angrily.

“What is that?” she asked, not expecting her friend to know, of course.

“You don’t know either?” he asked.

“Looks a little like a dragon,” she admitted, “but the body shape is all wrong... And they’re covered in rock.”

She cut her eyes at him and tilted her ears back and forth.

“Surprised you even got him down,” she said.

“Me too!” he agreed.

She smiled but then scratched her head puzzledly.

“You’re an earth pony though, right?” she asked. “For sure?”

“That’s what the nurse told me,” he replied, “why?”

“Well, you teleported.”

She almost didn’t quite believe it even as she said it, but she had seen him disappear from behind her and reappear in front almost within the same moment. He stared at her with wide eyes, silent for a moment before he rubbed his chin and said, slowly, “So that’s what that was.”

Suddenly cluing in, Derpy continued, “And how you got into my house. And onto the roof.”

“Must be,” he agreed, “but how did I-? Earth ponies aren’t supposed to do that?”

“Not as far as I can tell,” Derpy said.

She took a third, deep, tired breath and stood, giving him a smile.

“Well, after this is over, Twlight’s the right pony to ask about that, but for now...”

She knocked on the door of the huge, tree home and Time Turner got up to stand beside her.

“Sorry I’m so weird,” he said, halfway joking.

She shrugged and replied with, “Everyone’s weird in their own way. Have to be, or else life would be so boring,” shooting him a wink. His tail wagged and he smiled-- in truth, he was relieved beyond measure.

A creak above them drew the attention of both ponies and they looked up and to the right to see a purple face in the window before it opened.

“Derpy!” Twilight Sparkle called, her voice a bit shrill, but relief was clear. “Thank goodness! And that’s-?”

“Time Turner,” Derpy replied. “Everypony okay in there? Can we come in?”

“Of course, just let me come down there and unlock the door,” Twilight said swiftly.

The window shut with a sharp snap and the unicorn disappeared from behind the glass. They were left in relative quiet as Twilight presumably came down the stairs. Derpy couldn’t stop a small snort of laughter.

“What?” Time Turner asked.

Derpy stared at the door and then turned to look at the barrier.

“She locked the door.”

Time Turner snickered once he caught on. They stood at the door for only a few more seconds when they heard a lock click on the other side and it swung open to reveal not only Twilight, but a decent number of ponies behind her.

As she let them in, Derpy noticed Applejack and Rarity along with their younger sisters, the two musicians from the night prior, Cheerilee the school teacher; Spike the dragon huddled on the staircase -- there were a few others, adults and foals alike, but Derpy didn’t get to pick them out as Pinkie Pie ambushed her and squeezed her into a tight hug.

“You made it!!” she squealed, and then leapt off her to give Time Turner a huge hug as well, saying, “You too, whoever you are!”

As if startled by her own words, she hopped back and stared at the light brown stallion with wide eyes, saying, shocked, “I don’t know you.”

“I do: you’re that stallion who was passed out in the woods,” Applejack said, moving towards them. “Good to see you’re up and about even if these ain’t the best of circumstances.”

He squinted at her for just a moment before his brain clicked and he recalled the blurred, orange face-- and that accent as well.

“Thank you very much for the help,” he said with smile, but then looked around at the others as Twilight beckoned them further inside. “Fancy that, not even a one...”

“Not even one what?” Twilight asked worriedly.

The other ponies looked at him with confusion and he continued with, “Derpy’s the only pegasus here.”

“So you noticed it, too?” Twilight asked. “I was hoping it was a coincidence...”

“I don’t think so,” Derpy said quickly. “I got grabbed and the thing... it seemed to say ‘pegasus’.”

This was news to all the ponies in the room, who shared looks of fright and surprise.

“Wait!”

The small filly that had been beside Applejack, yellow with a bright, light red mane with a pink ribbon in it looked up at the older ponies with wide orange eyes. She looked terrified.

“I haven’t seen Scootaloo all day!” she squeaked. “She’s a pegasus, do you think those things out there snatched her up?”

“Relax, sugarcube,” Applejack said, putting her hoof around the little pony, “whatever happens, we’ll get her back.”

“But what if she’s-!” the filly said, but her sister looked at her sternly.

“Apple Bloom.”

The filly quietened quickly, ears drooping. Derpy blew out a puff of air, feeling almost guilty for being the only pegasus in the room. Beside her, Time Turner carefully held her hoof and he said, “We just barely escaped. Maybe a few others did as well?”

“Ooh! What about Rainbow Dash?!” Pinkie Pie demanded. “She’s the fastest flyer in Equestria, she has to have gotten away!”

The group exchanged worried glances and a pink filly snuck in closer to the legs of a brown stallion, presumably her father. Rarity bit her lip and reluctantly said, “Pinkie... darling, she-”

“Maybe Pinkie’s right,” the little dragon, Spike, added, shooting an apologetic look at Rarity for cutting her off, “Rainbow Dash is super fast, maybe she left to get help.”

“Maybe,” Twilight agreed halfheartedly. “But... don’t you think she would have come here first?”

Pinkie Pie pouted. The purple unicorn took in a deep breath, saying, “Right,” as if to steady herself and she said, turning to the other brown stallion, “Mr. Rich, do you think you could work with Cheerilee just to make sure the foals are all okay?”

“Of course,” he said with a nod, and then beckoned towards the other side of the library as his daughter clung to him. “C’mon, kids.”

“But-!” Apple Bloom began to protest, but Applejack gently cut her off.

“Go on, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith are waitin' for you.”

Applebloom drooped and squished up against the little white unicorn, Rarity’s younger sister, Sweetie Belle, as the brown stallion, Mr. Rich and the cerise coloured mare, Cheerilee, guided them and the others through the library towards another door. With a nod from Twilight, some of the other ponies followed, leaving only the two newest entries and Twilight’s closest friends in the main room.

Rarity bit her lip again and Twilight assured her, “They’ll all be safe down there,” with a tired smile. Quickly, the purple unicorn whirled on Derpy and Time Turner.

“How did you get away?” she asked.

Derpy was taken aback for a second as she felt all eyes on her, but she replied, “Time Turner hit the thing in the legs and it stumbled and let me go.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and Applejack whistled before saying, “Good gravy, new fella’, you must have some strong legs on you after all.”

The brown stallion stared at her blankly for a moment before he scratched his head, his ears drooping.

“I’m afraid I don’t follow,” he admitted.

Twilight held up a hoof as if to pause the others and turned to her bookshelf, pulling out a couple tomes and skimming the covers before she flipped open the smallest, a tattered old thing with a weathered, brown cover.

“They’re made of rock, is what she’s getting at,” Twilight said, frowning at the pages before her. “I mean, they don’t just look like it on the outside. They are made of stone. And you hurt it?”

“I don’t think I hurt it, I just knocked it off balance,” Time Turner said with a shrug.

“Um, Twilight,” Derpy said a bit shyly, “but... What are they?”

The unicorn looked up from her book, a bit surprised, and then recalled, “Oh right, you two weren’t here for that part.” She opened the book towards them to show off a detailed sketch of exactly the strange, bipedal beasts they had seen outside.

“They’re Obsidisaurs,” Twilight stated, “though it’s a bit of a misnomer, as their bodies are much more similar to andesite or basalt than to obsidian.”

“...Bath-salt-a-saurus,” Pinkie said quietly to herself, biting her lip to stop a giggle.

“Basalt, dear,” Rarity corrected, but Twilight shook her head.

“I guess the name doesn’t matter so much now,” she said, “What we need to focus on is rescuing Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and the others.”

“One thing down, then.”

The group looked up in shock as, tired and frustrated, a cerulean pegasus, rainbow mane askew and a few scrapes on her sides, flew in through one of upper windows. There was a collective, relieved murmur and instantly, Pinkie Pie was hugging her, saying, “Dashie!! I knew you were too fast for them!”

“Yeah, but as much as I hate to say it, their numbers are still a problem,” she said, patting the pink pony on the shoulder before pulling away.

She sighed as she glanced around the room and grimaced.

“I guess they got Fluttershy?”

The others didn’t seem to be able to meet her eyes. She scowled to herself and muttered, “Horsefeathers, I didn’t see her out there at all,” before she began to pace and then cast a glance at Derpy, giving her a tired smile. “Glad to see at least one other pegasus made it away.”

“So they really are only taking pegasi,” Time Turner grumbled. “I thought so.”

“That’s so scary, why would they want to do that?” Derpy said, rubbing her head tiredly.

“Not only did they want to,” Rainbow Dash added, “they were dead set on it. No normal pegasus could dodge the amount of lightning from those clouds. Soon as somepony got zapped, those things-”

“Obsidisaurs,” Twilight put in.

“Right. Obsidiwhatevers: they’d close right in and snatch them up.”

“That’s what happened to me,” Derpy said, gulping.

She felt fear starting to beat in her heart, and the idea that that little filly Scootaloo, the timid Fluttershy, along with all the other pegasi in town save for herself and Rainbow Dash were kidnapped by rock monsters chilled her like an icy grip on her spine.

“Rainbow Dash, you didn’t happen to see where the other pegasi were being taken to, did you?” Rarity asked.

The blue pegasus shook her head.

“Nah, didn’t see anything like that,” she said, frowning deeply at the floor. “I spent most of my time trying to lose those Saurawhatsits before coming here.”

She began to pace in agitation as Twilight started pulling down more books from her shelves. Spike caught on and joined her. Lifting off slowly, Derpy folded her forelimbs to her chest and flittered over. She watched the unicorn in silence for a few seconds before asking, “Need any help?”

“Sure, if you could just pull down any bestiaries you find,” Twilight said without tearing her eyes away from the shelf for even a moment. “The one I have out just has basic information, but I’m sure I have something more detailed somewhere in here.”

Derpy nodded and cast a glance at Time Turner. He nodded and they took the other side of the library, scanning the edges of books. Derpy was speeding through, though the stallion was ashamed to admit, to himself, that the words on the edges of the books looked like absolute gibberish to him. Derpy was preoccupied as she tossed a book down to him, saying, “Why don’t you check this one out?” He felt a sinking feeling in his gut but he caught the book anyway.

“O-Of course.”

He opened it and flipped through quickly once, and then started over. There were no images of the Obsidisaurs to go by. He winced and pulled the book in close, staring at the page and willing the words to come to him. He almost had a heart attack when they did. Suddenly, he could read it-- could read all of it, and do so quickly too, absorbing all the information on the page about Timberwolves that he was on almost instantly. His heart was racing and he put a hoof to his brow and rubbed it through his mane.

This can’t be normal, he thought. Why is nothing about me normal?

He gulped and then began to flip through the book. Above him, Derpy pulled a few more books from their shelves and placed them beside him. He hurried through the one he held and found nothing, and then went to the next one.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie bounced up and down the shelves, looking for the same thing they were, pulling out books seemingly at random. Derpy was starting to feel a bit nauseous-- hearing the rumbling outside made her worry so much that she felt sick-- and she looked below her at Time Turner, who was on the third book. Her eyes wandered to try to read over his shoulder without thinking, and before she knew it she bumped heavily against the bookshelf, sending books flying. Time Turner shielded his head with his hooves and the other ponies jumped at the sound of the hard covers slapping against the floor.

“Oh no! My bad!” Derpy squealed, landing quickly and shamefaced. “You okay? I’m sorry!”

“Not a worry, my friend,” the stallion laughed, pushing the extra books off of himself.

The pegasus muttered another, “Sorry,” and began to clean up, trying to ignore it as she heard Rainbow Dash let out an irritated sigh. Pinkie Pie bounced over to help, but first she flung the books open, wide eyes seeming to be trying to read at least five of them at once.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight asked.

“Reading, duh,” she replied brightly.

Time Turner stared at her with wide eyes and then leaned over to Derpy, nudging her with his elbow and asking, “Can we do that?” Derpy smiled a little and shook her head. The stallion muttered a surprised, “huh.”

“Can’t we go any faster?” Rainbow Dash asked; her ears flattened back and she frowned, tapping her hoof in utter irritation. “Or can I just get going on my own?”

“Rainbow Dash, don’t be ridiculous,” Rarity said with a small frown wrinkling her demure brow, “you can’t possibly go out on your own.”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to protest, but Twilight quickly put in, “She’s right. We really shouldn’t split up, especially before we really know what’s going on.”

The blue pegasus bit her lip and her frown deepened; she resumed pacing, her wings out and a little rigid in irritation. Derpy’s ears drooped sympathetically and she curiously peeked over to Pinkie, who still seemed to be managing quite a few books at once. She waved a limb over them, flipping pages, though Derpy caught a glimpse of a familiar shape and lifted a book away to take a look. Pinkie watched her curiously as she sat on the floor; Time Turner leaned in close to look as well over one of her shoulders and Pinkie peeked over the other. The tome was not of creatures, but one of legends this time, and to the surprise of the three ponies, there was an old sketch of the Obsidisaurs filling a page, one of the three-- drawn bigger than the others, with large horns like those of a ram on its head-- blowing what appeared to be smoke from its mouth at first glance, though that was corrected in their minds quickly by the presence of small lightning sparks lacing the dark surface. The other page had the starts of a legend, an old tale of a rampage of beasts from a quarry past the Everfree Forest.

“Hey, Twilight,” Derpy said, drawing the attention of all the others, “this book has a legend about the Obsidisaurs.”

“What?” Twilight replied, rushing over; her eyes skimmed the cover of the book. “Of course! Legends of Beyond the Everfree! I should have remembered that.”

She looked dejected for a moment and, unable to help himself, Time Turner laughed much to the surprise of the other ponies

“Miss Twilight, you must have hundreds of books here. You can’t possibly be expected to remember every single one of them,” he said.

The unicorn’s eyes widened and her cheeks pinked and she agreed with a shy, “I guess.” Behind her, Spike laughed.

“I’ve been trying to tell her that for years!” he said.

Twilight smiled sheepishly for just a moment before her ears perked up high and she asked, “Derpy, what does it say?”

The grey pegasus quickly skimmed the page and then flipped to continue before summarizing, “It’s an old story about the Obisdisaurs. It says they came from a deep gorge or quarry or something like that a long time ago. They were disturbed by something and began to rampage all over the place, but some ponies managed to lure them back to their home and calm them somehow.”

“Somehow?” Applejack repeated.

Derpy scrunched up her face and frowned, flipping through the pages, only to find that there was a completely different legend after just two more pages.

“There’s not a whole lot of extra info, but... There’s a weird old poem in here,” Derpy said; she tossed the book to Twilight, whose magic enveloped it quickly and she began to read as Time Turner trotted over to curiously lean over her shoulder:

“ Terrible stone and heavy claws tear apart what nurtures all

Innumerable spears from the sky fall in vain until rock is bound by wind

Momentous thoughts, unorthodox,

Eternal circle given form in shining radiance

Stars made solid, light the way through future and passed--

On through the black, with wings that encase all

No more will they trouble us,

Great crystal, be the song that soothes the beast.”

She frowned at it and Rainbow Dash sarcastically said, “Yeah, that isn’t cryptic or stupid at all.”

“Hang on, Rainbow,” Twilight said, “This poem, it’s... weird.”

“Stars made solid, light the way through future and passed. Passed like to pass something, not like the past. That’s odd,” Time Turner put in-- he was surprised at himself for noticing that after just learning to read, but Twilight nodded in agreement.

“Great, our only source of ancient info couldn’t spell,” Rainbow said, putting a hoof to her face.

“Perhaps it means something,” Rarity said.

“A riddle, maybe?” Twilight wondered.

They could almost see the unicorn’s mind whirring, but despite that, Rainbow Dash scraped her hoof against the floor and looked to be holding in a great deal of frustration. Derpy grimaced; she wanted to comfort her but had no idea what to say. Applejack seemed to have a bit more of an idea, and she said, “Hey, Twilight?” to draw the purple unicorn’s attention. Twilight whirled on her curiously.

“I appreciate needin’ to know how to deal with these, uh... monsters, and such, but maybe we could figure that out after we rescue the other pegasi?” the orange mare suggested a bit cautiously.

Twilight stared at her blankly and replied with, “But how can we do that if we don’t know how to stop them?”

“I figure sendin’ them packin’ ain’t exactly required to save our friends,” Applejack added.

“It would certainly make it easier, though” Rarity put in with a sigh, “and we still don’t even know where they’ve been taken, might I add.”

Applejack’s ears drooped and she grimaced, and Rainbow Dash let out a loud, frustrated groan and put her hooves to her eyes, grumbling something low and tired.

“What was that?” Pinkie Pie asked in concern, edging in closer to the other three.

“I said,” Rainbow Dash said reluctantly, “I have to find Scootaloo. The little squirt will be counting on me. If I can’t save her, then... then...”

She bit her lip and she turned her frowning gaze up to the ceiling and away from meeting direct eye contact with any of her friends. It didn’t matter, though, they saw through her facade immediately.

As the others rushed in to comfort Rainbow Dash immediately, Derpy sighed and wilted where she sat. She didn’t know what to do, that much was obvious. Time Turner watched her and the other ponies with a growing knot in his stomach. Just what could they do? He returned to Derpy’s side and held his head, trying to think.

What can we do?

He thought for a little while until a sort of dangerous, worrying, and yet logical idea sprung to him. Gently, he tapped Derpy and he said, “Hey. Up for an adventure?”

“An adventure?” she repeated, confused.

Time Turner nodded and, a bit cautiously, trotted up to Twilight, who was still trying to reassure Rainbow Dash that everything would be okay.

“Miss Twilight,” he said, “sorry to interrupt, but may I make a copy of that poem?”

The purple unicorn seemed completely jarred out of what she was doing, and in an instant, her bright magic had zapped around the room, executing several tasks and produced a copy on a small sheet of parchment. Derpy watched with confusion until what he was suggesting clicked in her mind. For a moment, she thought he was nuts, and then thought she was nuts for agreeing with him completely.

Twilight held the parchment to Time Turner in the glow of her magic, raising her eyebrow at him.

“What for?” she asked as he took it in his teeth.

“Werll, Drpy ‘nd--” he began, looked confused, and then held the paper on his hoof instead; Derpy quickly took it and tucked it into her bag as she joined him. “Thank you. Derpy and I are going to investigate this while you and your lovely friends rescue the pegasi.”

The five mares in the room stared at him blankly and Rainbow Dash blurted, “Who in the hay are you?”

“Excellent question,” Time Turner said. “In any event, a division of labour seems most appropriate, wouldn’t you agree?”

Rainbow Dash looked flabbergasted, but Twilight seemed relieved, saying a bright, “That seems like a great idea.”

“I dunno,” the blue pegasus said, folding her forelimbs to her chest.

Derpy felt her nerves shrivel as Rainbow Dash’s eyes settled squarely on her. The others followed, even though Applejack elbowed the other pegasus disapprovingly.

“I... I won’t let you down,” Derpy assured them, hoping to Celestia that she could keep her word.

“You’ll do fine, sugarcube,” Applejack assured her.

She was relieved of the mare’s words, and for whatever reason, it seemed to give Rainbow Dash a little confidence as well. Quickly, Rarity perked up, a tired smile spreading across her face.

“Ooh! And I have just the thing for ‘snooping’!” Rarity said brightly; she headed towards the labratory door. “I just need my bags, I’ll be back in a tick!”

---

Derpy didn’t know Rarity very well, but she had always thought that the clothing she designed at her boutique were lovely. When the pale grey unicorn returned from the the lab beneath the library after only a little while with a set of perfect, black, undercover outfits for every pony heading out, Derpy was positive that she was a genius.

Rarity passed out the shadowy clothes amongst her close friends quickly and then held one out to Derpy, who accepted it gratefully and took off her messenger bag.

“I do hope it fits,” she said. “You are more lightly built than Rainbow Dash, so I’ve used Fluttershy’s measurements for you, minus the height, of course.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Thank you so much,” Derpy said quickly.

Each mare was given a zipper-up black, hooded jumpsuit and tall, padded boots to muffle their hoofsteps. The others pulled theirs on quickly, and Derpy tried to as well, fumbling a bit as she did. In the Meanwhile, Rarity presented Time Turner with something slightly different-- a black coat and shorter boots than the others.

“Thank you, Miss...?”

“Rarity.”

She nodded at him and he smiled, saying, “Miss Rarity, then! Thank you,” as he put on the coat.

“Sorry, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced,” she said.

“Time Turner,” he replied simply. “I’m new in town, staying at my dear friend Derpy Hooves’s home.”

“Well,” she said with a smile, “from what I’ve seen thus far, we will be lucky to have you.”

His ears perked as she turned and joined the others, starting to put on her own clothing quickly. Time Turner quickly put the boots on over his hooves, and then turned to find Derpy in the group. He caught her fumbling with one of her boots-- his realized the close up focusing must have been a little difficult for her, and quickly helped her pull it on. He smiled when she mumbled out a thanks and nodded at her before casting his gaze around the room. The two pegasi didn’t have holes for wings in their clothing-- a smart idea, Time Turner decided.

“Shall we be off?” he asked Derpy.

Derpy shot him a concerned look and said, “Positive you’re up for it?”

“Of course,” he replied.

The pegasus stared at him for just a little while before smiling and nodding, putting her bag back on as she turned towards the others.

“We’ll start towards the forest,” she said. “We’ll let you know what we find as soon as we get back, okay?”

“Good luck,” Twilight Sparkle said quickly; the others echoed her and Pinkie Pie sent them off with a hug before they slipped out of the library.

Derpy Hooves and Time Turner skulked around the outside of the library tree’s base, peering through Twilight’s barrier and into town. There weren’t any Obsidisaurs close by-- none that they could see, anyway-- but they could certainly hear them. Footsteps rumbled around the town and the deep, earthy growls combined to make a thunder throughout Ponyville. Derpy was petrified, but tried not to let it show as she stole a glimpse of her new companion. He looked curious, and worried too, but not scared-- at least not outwardly so. She worried for him anyway; wondered why fate or chance would have brought the poor, amnesiac pony to Ponyville at such a terrible time. She wondered too why she was suddenly involved in the saving town part of the calamity: she had been in Cloudsdale the last few times, like when a pony named Trixie had taken over with evil magic, or when Spike the dragon had become massive and set about on a rampage. Before then, she had simply hid, like most normal, not-so-brave ponies did.

She took a deep breath and gulped nervously, and beside her, to her surprise, Time Turner put a confident hoof on her shoulder and, as if he had read her mind, said, “Time to be brave, Miss Derpy Hooves.” She stared at him for a moment and then nodded. She tucked her bag in closer to her side and scooted around the tree. He followed her, wondering, “So where are we headed?”

“Are you sure you’re okay to be headed anywhere?” Derpy asked.

Time Turner rolled his eyes dramatically and he grinned at her.

“I appreciate the worry,” he said, “But I assure you, I feel fine.”

She truly hoped he was being honest. She nodded at him and pointed south-east through town.

“The Everfree Forest is that way,” she said. “Ready to go?”

“Ready as ever,” he assured her.

---

Nopony was on the streets of Ponyville and, sneaking quietly through sideroads and around buildings, Derpy and Time Turner were soon at the edge of town, slinking along the fence of an empty paddock near a tree-cottage that belonged, to Derpy’s knowledge, to Fluttershy. The thought of going into the forest was heavy in her mind but here she finally felt a little safe and straightened up to take a quick look around. Time Turner followed her example and looked at the trees curiously.

“Through there, yes?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, “but we have to be careful. The Everfree Forest is... a strange place.”

“Define strange,” he said.

“It... It works on a different set of rules to the rest of Equestria,” she tried to explain. “It’s just dangerous, is all.”

“Fair enough,” Time Turner said: he was still curious, but didn’t push.

His eyes roamed across the treeline, but didn’t see a single spot where creatures so huge could have burst through. Derpy was on the same wavelength and she frowned with puzzlement and edged around past the paddock to take a better look. A sudden, angry chattering made her jump back with shock and Time Turner hurried to join her, eyes wide. To their surprise, from within a bush, a white rabbit jumped, brandishing a pointed stick like a spear in its tiny paws as it let out a surprisingly low growl.

Derpy almost melted with relief.

“Angel Bunny!” she said, giving in to a smile. “Glad to see you’re okay!”

The rabbit, Angel, relaxed a little, but continued to frown and chattered again, pointing at town and then holding his forelimbs up close to his body, gnashing his teeth and stomping around in a circle.

“I know, we saw them,” Derpy assured him.

“I’m sorry, are you speaking with that--?”

“Rabbit. Or bunny. And yes, I thought he was kind of self-explanatory.”

She smiled and Time Turner stared at Angel, who rolled his eyes. The stallion stared for a moment before he laughed and smiled, saying, “I suppose you’re right!”

He leaned down almost until he was lying on his belly to look at Angel, who frowned at him, though he said, “Nice to meet you Angel. Did you see where the Obsidisaurs came from?” The rabbit nodded his head quickly, tapped one foot, ran in a circle and then mimed the monster again before pointing to the cottage. He then waved his limbs in the air and squeaked as if in fear, and then mimed the monster grabbing something and stomping away. His ears drooped and he looked worried. Derpy bit her lip while Time Turner’s ears drooped a little as he raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

“...They took someone from here?” he asked.

“Fluttershy,” Derpy said worriedly.

Time Turner recognized the name from the other ponies at the library and looked at Derpy, straightening himself out as he asked, “A friend of yours?”

“Sort of,” she replied. “She lives here. Angel lives with her.”

Angel nodded and he hopped and pointed towards town. Derpy shook her head.

“We can’t go back there,” she said, and though he seemed immediately frustrated, Derpy assured him, “Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash are going to try to save Fluttershy. We need to find where the Obsidisaurs came from to try to send them back there.”

She offered him her hoof.

“Will you help us?”

The rabbit nodded quickly and shook her hoof, and then clambered up into her messenger bag. Derpy smiled as he poked his head out and pointed towards the forest. Time Turner grinned and said, “Shall we?”

Taking off at a gallop, they followed the pointing paw around the edge of the woods until it became painfully obvious where the Obsidisaurs had come from. Their tracks were lodged deep in the ground and the trees were bent and broken in a thick pathway that stood out in a way that seemed almost surreal.

“Fancy that,” he said, and then trotted forward, peering into the woods. “I suppose it would be silly to think that those giant beasts would have really been able to cover their tracks.”

Eagerly, he began into the woods across broken branches and deep, muddy footsteps. Derpy hesitated, gulping, her ears drooping low as her heart began to beat hard in her chest. She shifted on her hooves and Angel looked at her with confusion. She grimaced-- Time Turner turned to look for her behind him. He was startled not to see her there and he called, “Come on, Miss Derpy, we should get going!”

The look on her face gave him pause and he doubled back, brows tilting with sympathy.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“N-Nothing, I... Nothing.”

She shook her head and, taking a deep breath and hurrying towards the forest to get it over with.

Derpy was trembling with every step-- Time Turner could see it clearly. He wondered why she was so afraid. He kept close to her as they delved deep into the dark forest. He supposed the sounds around them were a bit spooky, and the sun blocked by tree branches that looked like gnarly monster claws, along the strange, pungent stench of--

“Wait,” he said.

Derpy stopped quickly and skittered to his side nervously, demanding, “What?” a bit shrilly. Angel looked between them curiously, but suddenly made a gasping sound and covered his nose. Derpy caught a whiff at almost the same moment

“Dear Celestia!” She pulled the collar of her jumpsuit up over her snout. “What is that?”

“If I’m not mistaken, Timberwolves,” the stallion replied.

Derpy reared back in surprise and barked, “What?!” loudly as she hopped up close to him, eyes wide with fright. Angel Bunny dove into the messenger bag in panic.

“I read that they smell quite foul in that book-” he began, only to be drowned out by a loud, low snarl.

He didn’t jump despite his surprise, but Derpy did, cowering behind him as golden, gleaming points of light stared out from the dark spots between trees. The ponies pulled back as a head seemingly made from wood rose up, peeling itself from the underbrush and baring a set of wicked teeth.

“Oh, that’s a Timberwolf,” Time Turner said.

“Run!” Derpy cried, shoving him with her head.

A second growl sounded from behind them and the stallion didn’t have to be told twice. They took off in a scramble of hooves and almost instantly, clawed, wooden paws trampled the sunken, muddy path behind them.

Derpy’s every instinct told her to fly, but it wasn’t going to happen. Her vision was blurred and swimming, disoriented as her focus shifted behind her to the glow and teeth and tried to follow the path in front at the same moment. A bend in the Obsidisaur trail sent her stumbling and she tried to regain her feet, only to see a flash of teeth above her. Before she could even cry out, she felt her friend’s forelimbs around her and her already confused sight blurred into a dizzying, whirling mess as they tumbled together down a rough hill. Within an instant of thumping to the ground, she was pulled under something dark and she heard leaves rustling. She gulped deeply and, as she tried to steady her head, she saw Time Turner’s face edge closer in the dark and gently shush her. She bit her lip and nodded, and kept as still as she could. Beside her, Time Turner kept his ears perked high, his face solid with absolute focus.

The sound of claws pricked leaves in the distance and and snorting, rasping inhales betrayed a confused and frustrated group of animals far above them. Derpy did her best to hold her breath, hugging Angel in her messenger bag to her chest worriedly. Only when the woods were completely silent did Time Turner finally shift, grabbing what was above them and pulling it clear, letting in what little light spread through the woods.

Derpy saw then that they were half under an outcropping of dirt and tree roots at the bottom of a steep hill. She grimaced and took a deep breath, while Angel, dazed, poked his head out of the bag to look around. Time Turner let out an involuntary Phew! as he pulled his coat from around them a bit more and brushed the leaves from their bodies.

“That was so scary...” Derpy breathed. “You okay, Angel?”

Angel nodded and, slowly, the pegasus got to her hooves, as did Time Turner.

“Goodness, that was quite an adventure,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Right. You okay?”

“F-Fine,” the mare replied. “You?”

“I’m fantastic,” he assured her as he put his coat back on. “You were right to be scared of this place, though.”

Derpy laughed shyly and Angel shuddered, ducking back into the bag. She peeked up the sharply steep hill and tried her front hooves on it-- no, it wouldn’t work unless she could run vertical. She bit her lip and cast a glance at her friend, who was also eyeing the sheer slope. She couldn’t fly them up either, he was too heavy for her. She shyly trotted up to his side and was about to apologize, but the sudden sound of a growl set them both alert.

“Shall we keep going?” he asked quickly.

“Yes. L-Let’s go,” Derpy agreed.

Derpy was still trying to regain her breath properly as she and Time Turner proceeded along the side of the slope carefully, trying to follow the path from far below. The stallion walked ahead slightly, pushing through the brush with a sort of oblivious confidence. The pegasus watched him curiously. He didn’t fumble as he walked at all anymore-- in fact, he seemed more confident on his four hooves than she was. However, the news of his heart condition still sat in her mind and kept her concerned. She trotted a little faster to keep up with him, and he shot her a smile when she did.

“H-How do you think the others are doing?” she asked.

“That Twlight pony seems to have a good head on her shoulders,” he said, “I’m sure they’re fine.”

Derpy nodded her agreement and sighed to herself, glancing up at the top of the hill to check their spot. However, she stalled, eyes widening as she realized that the path above hadn’t continued-- the broken trees that had marked the other path were replaced by pristine, dark foliage. Quickly, she grabbed Time Turner and pointed; he took a moment to understand and then said a surprised, “Oh!” before casting around in the brush, frowning, and then trying to get up the slope a little. He slipped down almost immediately, and he turned to Derpy.

“I suppose flying us up is out of the question?” he asked.

“I can’t... I can’t carry you,” she said, shamefaced. “Sorry...”

He shook his head and assured her, “No need to apologize. We’ll continue forward for now.”

The pegasus felt her heart sink but she nodded nonetheless.

They travelled together with caution for a while, though Derpy couldn’t help the notion that they were just getting lost. Time Turner didn’t want to say anything, but he was feeling something quite similar. He kept going, though-- they couldn’t stop, not with every pegasus in Ponyville on the line. He was lost in thought when a bright, warm light struck him so suddenly he almost felt dazed by it. Derpy let out an “Ooh!” and couldn’t help a smile. Angel poked his head from her bag and stared out in surprise.

The trees, dark and intimidating as they were, parted as if raising their limbs up, recoiling from the sun’s touch to reveal a clearing of grass and roots that seemed out of place and almost beautiful.

“Would you look at that,” Time Turner said with surprise, blinking his eyes quickly in the light.“Ooh! Fantastic!”

He trotted with renewed enthusiasm around the perimeter of the clearing and Derpy followed, taking in the sun happily.

“So nice to see the sky without all those terrible...”

Derpy’s own words dawned on her quickly and she gasped and then, quickly, took off her bag and unzipped the dark outfit. Time Turner looked on with confusion and then looked up again and grinned.

“I see!” he said brightly.

Derpy nodded and ditched the jumpsuit quickly, flapping high into the sky. The wind felt great on her wings as she rose quickly to peer over the forest and towards town. From the clearing, her heart dropped as she saw the swirling, thick dome of storm clouds over Ponyville. She gulped and tried to keep herself straight in the air, and then dipped back down towards Time Turner and Angel below. In the other direction, she could see a bit of disturbance in the trees and a strange something a long ways away.

Derpy landed with a bit of a stumble and pointed with the first sense of confidence she had had in a while.

“That way!” she said.

Time Turner smiled with what she could have sworn was pride, and he picked up her messenger bag and put it on as she donned her dark suit once more.

---

Pushing through the forest was getting exhausting, and Derpy couldn’t help but envy Angel for being able to nap. Time Turner wasn’t the least bit tired, but he could see it clearly in Derpy’s every move that she was wearing out. Without really thinking, he asked, “Would you like me to carry you?” Derpy’s cheeks flushed and she immediately shook her head.

“No thanks,” she mumbled timidly.

He shrugged and continued on for just a few more strides before he stopped abruptly, causing Angel to yelp and Derpy to run into him.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, “but... uh...”

“What?” Derpy asked as she righted herself.

“There is a giant gap in the ground here.”

Derpy’s heart sunk and she edged up past him. Through the bushes and bracken, past a few tree trucks, she could just barely see the world give way, and as she pushed through even farther, she could see that they were at the edge of a huge, steep ravine. Down below was a river and, to her surprise, Obsidisaur tracks along its gravelly bank. The relief that they were going to right way almost took her over and she began to laugh a little to herself for just a moment before she realized she had no idea how to get them down there. As Time Turner leaned in to look over, eyes wide with awe, Derpy cringed and her mind started whirring as she tried to figure out what to do next.

“Stupid, weak wings,” she grumbled at herself as she began to pace.

The stallion immediately whirled on her, eyes wide, ears drooping, and he said, “Don’t say that! Perhaps I’m just incredibly heavy, did you ever think of that?”

She wanted to let herself think that for a moment; she shook her head nonetheless and rubbed her brow. The afternoon was wearing on and Derpy was starting to get very worried again. Time Turner frowned and cautiously began to look around the edge of the vertical dropoff. It was interesting to see everything from up so high. His tail wagged and he turned to look at Derpy. The poor mare looked incredibly agitated, and he supposed he couldn’t blame her.

He watched her pace a little more, eyes set in a frown as she wore the foliage beneath her down under booted hooves. He wished he knew what to do to assist her, but short of him climbing straight down the precarious dropoff, he had no idea what to do. He edged in a little ways in from the cliff and watched Derpy worriedly. Angel, too, stared at her, ears drooping as he peeked out of the bag.

All of a sudden, Derpy stopped in her tracks-- her wings fluttered under her suit and she put her head up high, ears perking and eyes like saucers.

“Wait, wait,” she said, “Is that--?”

She edged off quickly, looking very confused, and Time Turner whipped around to follow her, and was surprised to see her produce a hat blue hat with a black visor from the bushes. She took it in one wing and brushed it off with the other.

“This is my hat,” she said, frowning at it in puzzlement.

“What, you mean that hat you couldn’t find back at your house?” Time Turner asked quickly.

She nodded as he stared at it with confusion. They were both thinking the same thing-- the question aloud was unnecessary, but Derpy said, “I’ve never even been out here before.”

“Are you positive?” Time Turner asked-- it didn’t seem like a thing he really needed to ask, but it was just so unbelievable.

Derpy nodded and flipped the hat to show the inside. It was marked with her Cutie Mark.

She looked up and her gaze passed into the woods beyond where her hat had been as she passed it off to Angel, who promptly put it on. Something looked a little out of place there, and, cautiously, she edged into the bush to investigate despite a sinking feeling in her gut. Her worries were quickly swapped out for relief and she couldn’t help a smile as she spied a path that looked like it was used relatively recently.

“There!” she said. “Take a look!”

Time Turner promptly beamed upon seeing what she did, and quickly, he jumped into the brush, feeling along the path with his hooves before turning to Derpy and beckoning for her to follow. Eagerly, finally feeling like they were getting somewhere, she did.

---

Following the strange path took the small group along the edge of the precipice and, to their surprise, guided them safely down to the riverbank. There, equally as surprising, they found that several large rocks had been rolled from the bank to make a sort of stepping-stone bridge across the water.

“Fancy that,” Time Turner mused, “seems like someone else has been here before us, eh? Though I suppose that path indicated as such as well.”

“Somepony who stole my hat,” Derpy said, rubbing her forehead.

She eyed the stones across the river suspiciously and looked at Time Turner.

“Guess we have to cross to follow the tracks, huh?” she asked a bit worriedly.

The stallion stretched his back and looked out over the water curiously before replying with, “I suppose so.”

Derpy was a little nervous and considered taking off the jumpsuit again, but before she could, Angel chattered at her and jumped onto the stony riverbank.

“Uh... What are you doing?” she asked.

He held up his paw and, under the eyes of the two ponies, searched around the riverbank. He picked up one stone, hit it with another, and then quickly jumped on Derpy’s back, cutting a hole in her outfit for her wing.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Oh, Rarity’s going to be upset.”

Angel waved a paw dismissively and cut the other side as well as Time Turner chuckled. Derpy smiled shyly and slipped her wings through and flapped. Angel patted her a bit roughly on the head before jumping down and returning to the messenger bag.

“Ah! Clever rabbit. Shall we go?” Time Turner inquired.

Derpy nodded and, feeling a little more sure of herself, lifted off as her friend began to hop his way across the stones in the river. He didn’t seem worried in the least, but nonetheless Derpy fluttered nearby to spot him.

Time Turner made it across the river without a hitch and they were quickly on their way again. No sooner than they had rounded the bend, however, they came upon a sight that surprised them. From the angle across the river, they hadn’t seen it, but there was a small cavern, no bigger than a single pony, near a rocky outcrop. Time Turner glanced at Derpy questioningly and she bit her lip nervously. She wasn’t sure what to do but her friend almost immediately stuck his head down into the darkness, squinting through the gloom.

“Is there anything down there?” Derpy asked cautiously.

The stallion frowned and tilted his head back and forth, scraping his booted hoof across the rough stone. Something struck him and his ears perked up; he took off the boot and repeated the action curiously, and then ran his hoof along the edge of the gap in the wall. The pegasus didn’t quite understand and she squinted into the darkness as well-- her eyes weren’t having it, though, and her concentrated gaze soon wavered and became unfocussed. She cringed and drew back, rubbing her eyes.

“You alright?”

Time Turner looked at her with concern and she nodded, blinking and asking, “Did you find something?”

“I believe I have, actually,” he said. “The edge of this passageway is completely smooth. Perhaps it was carved.”

The mare’s eyes widened and she touched the side herself and then frowned, wondering how it could have happened. Before she could postulate any ideas, Time Turner had begun into the darkness. Derpy jumped and she squealed out a, “Hey, w-wait!!”, wings puffing, flustered, as she hurried after him.

---

Down and down they went, through the darkness, following a path of stone that echoed with the softened sound of all hooves but one, clip-clopping loudly. Time Turner stuck close by Derpy, trying to keep at least one part of his body touching hers in the dark. He could see with relative clarity, but it was obvious that she couldn’t, and neither could Angel. He wondered if it was them or him who was out of place in this situation.

Probably me, he decided.

He hoped this path was safe. He also hoped it was the right way. He suspected that it was, but he couldn’t be sure.

“Derpy,” he said quietly, though the echo instantly amplified his words, “any idea what could have made this?”

“Magic, maybe?” she said. “Maybe a unicorn came this way. Oh! I just had a terrible idea!”

“What?”

“What if an evil unicorn came this way to release those monsters and what if she’s still in there?!”

Derpy stopped and put a hoof to her cheek, wincing with fright. Her friend stopped to look at her with confusion and, in the bag, Angel peeked out and pulled Derpy’s hat tight against his head.

“You really think that’s it?” he wondered.

Derpy had no idea, but her imagination was running away with her. She cringed, gulped, and then said a quiet, “I don’t know. I hope not.”

Time Turner couldn’t help a fond chuckle and he patted his friend’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Don’t worry Miss Derpy, I’m sure nothing so sinister happened here,” he said with much more conviction in his voice than he felt.

Derpy seemed to sense it, but she relaxed a little anyways and they hurried on their way.

When the pathway finally leveled out, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, the ponies were surprised to be greeted with a faint, firelight glow. Following it, the group came upon a cavern of jaw-dropping size, the ground sloping away as the path opened up to it, revealing deep grooves in the earth covered in stone pathways and smoothed ruins. Small firelights burned like stars in the distant dark and, rising above it all, straight across from them was a raised platform carved from red stone that pressed up close to the opposite wall. Derpy had no words for a long while, though her wings stood up straight and she peered around, wondering who could have built such a huge place.

“Derpy,” Time Turner said, snapping her from her stupor, “perhaps you could see better from the air?”

“Right,” she agreed, and hurriedly took off.

The air was understandably still, and it took a bit more flapping than she would have liked to gain height, but once she did, her mouth went dry as she realized where they were.

“Time Turner!” she called down to him. “They slept here!”

“What?” he called back with surprise.

Derpy flipped backwards and fluttered down, repeating, “The Obsidisaurs-- they slept in here. There are, like... shapes. Like they had been sleeping in the ground and then moved.”

His eyes widened and he cast around the huge cavern before pointing his bare hoof up to the platform.

“How about I meet you up there?” he asked.

“What? Are you sure?” she asked.

“Quite sure,” he replied, “Unless...”

He frowned and his body went rigid; he ground his hooves into the earth below and closed his eyes, concentrating very hard. No matter how he willed it, however, he couldn’t move like he had. He opened his eyes to find Derpy and Angel looking at him strangely-- he couldn’t help a laugh and he smiled embarrassedly, saying, “I guess I can’t just do it on a whim.”

“Oh! That!”

The pegasus suddenly understood, but Angel merely frowned with confusion and twirled his paw beside his head before diving back into the bag. The stallion snickered and then, grinning, said, “I’ll race you!” before taking off at a gallop.

“H-Hey!” Derpy exclaimed; she was flying up and after him in an instant.

Naturally, Derpy reached the pedestal before he did: he had to cross the chasm and climb a flight of spiral stairs to get there. He was panting by the end, but as Derpy pulled him up the last step, he chuckled and said, “Knew that’d get you up here.”

“C’mon now, you shouldn’t push yourself so hard,” she said.

He brushed her off with a grin and then beckoned her to come with him as he approached the wall. It was only a little lit by a small torch on one side so, quickly, Time Turner grabbed it and used it to light the opposite torch to illuminate the whole wall before putting the original back in its place.

Before them stood a pedestal that was situated center to a huge, elaborate carving behind it. It was almost a pony’s height a half-sphere carved out of the top of it. Past it, the wall told a story. It displayed, from left to right, images that were a little weathered: it started with three Obsidisaurs led by a forth with great horns, tearing up trees and fields. Quickly, it transitioned to a conflict with a flock of armoured pegasi armed with spears. The pegasi were defeated and many were captured in what seemed to be a cage made of stone. Derpy felt a sinking feeling and looked at Time Turner, who still stared intently at the carving, and then quickly delved into the bag. Angel chattered in annoyance and the stallion said, “Oh, relax, I just need the poem!”

The bunny quickly produced it and Time Turner held it out so that Derpy could see it as well.

“Innumerable spears from the sky fall in vain,” he quoted, and then pointed to the image of the pegasi trying to fight the Obsidisaurs.

He raised his brows and Derpy gulped and nodded, and then, after skimming the poem again, took a second look at the wall. She saw the pegasi that were not trapped created a tornado that disoriented the Obsidisaurs, and then a unicorn was brought in with a shimmering crystal ball that, in a larger image contained a brilliant star map.

Stars made solid, Derpy recalled, Light the way through future and passed-- and then looked to see as the crystal was brought by the unicorn and another pegasus to the very spot she, Time Turner and Angel stood.

It was placed in the pedestal. surrounded by symbols of birds and celestial bodies and, happily now, the Obsidisaurs went to sleep. She shared a worried glance with Time Turner and then looked at the pedestal.

“So somebody took the... Oh my,” he muttered.

Worriedly, he reared up to inspect the pedestal and leaned over it to get a better look at the stone carvings behind it.

“Aside from the poetic flourishes, I think that poem must mean that whatever was here-- a crystal I guess?-- was keeping the Obsidisaurs happy...”

“But why would anypony take something so important?” Derpy demanded.

“Maybe they had to do something with it that was just as important,” Time Turner replied with a shrug.

“But to leave Ponyville like that-!”

“Miss Derpy, it’ll be completely fine,” he assured her. “We are here now to fix it, so it shouldn’t really be a problem.”

“I can’t believe you’re so confident,” she said, “but... I trust you.”

He grinned at her and ran his hooves over the tablet, and down into the small well.

“We just have to replace whatever was here.”

“Sorry, I don’t actually have my mystic, mysterious star crystal with me,” Derpy joked.

He snickered despite everything and Derpy trotted over to look at the pedestal as well. She peered with deliberately widened eyes into the spherical depression and was surprised to notice tiny grooves inside. Staring even closer, she noticing little pricks along the grooves and looked at the curiously for a moment.

“What do you see?” Time Turner asked.

“It almost looks like...”

But no, that couldn’t be right, could it? She frowned at it and looked closer, only to come to the same conclusion over again.

“Music,” she said.

Time Turner’s eyes widened and he said, “Be the song that soothes the beast. It may not be a metaphor after all.”

“So this crystal,” she said, scratching her head, “it contains the secrets of time and space, and plays music that calms these rock monsters down.”

She stuck her tongue out and jokingly added, “I wonder if it can be used as an oven or maybe it’ll give you a back massage too.”

Time Turner laughed and peered close at the inscription.

“It seems like the music was a secondary feature,” he said. “Perhaps it was just a general recording device that had a more pressing use than an elaborate star map from the poem.”

He took a look at it once more, wondering if they had missed anything. The stone carving matched up with basically everything listed, with the exception of the “wings that encase all”. That spelling error still irked him though. Why passed instead of past in this context? Grammatically, it didn’t make much sense either.

“Light the way through future and passed...” he said quietly.

Derpy shot him a puzzled glance and he shook his head, deciding not to bother with it now. Perhaps Rainbow Dash was part-right and the author had just made an error. He frowned and scratched his chin.

“So we need to replace the crystal,” he said.

“How? How can we even find out who took it?” Derpy replied.

Time Turner sat down and rubbed his brow, shaking his head. Beside him, Derpy’s bag shuffled and Angel jumped out and climbed the stallion to jump onto the top of the pedestal and inspect it with a frown. Derpy sighed and plopped down onto the rock as well tiredly. She hadn’t a clue what to do now-- she bit her lip and took another look at the carving. They couldn’t have come all this way just to be stuck now, could they. Her ears drooped, but only stayed low for a second as Angel let out a sharp whistle. The mare’s head shot up in alarm and quickly, the bunny grabbed her ear and pulled her to the pedestal.

“Ow, ow, Angel, watch it!” she squeaked.

He gave her a quick, light smack upside the head and, frowning deeply, pointed to the birds on the carving, and then to the music notes carved where the crystal should sit. Derpy’s eyes widened and she said, “You’re saying the crystal doesn’t matter. It’s the song.” Angel nodded vigorously and Derpy’s face lit up.

“We just need something else to record, and somepony who can sing!” she exclaimed.

Time Turner was on his hooves in an instant, grinning at both of them, announcing, “Much easier! Perhaps Miss Twilight’s magic would be able to help us in at least on of those regards.”

Derpy grinned and Angel nodded again before he pointed to the music, then made a purposefully adorable, wide eyed face while pulling one ear down over the side of his face and flopping the other backwards, and then hunching meekly. Time Turner inclined his head, confused, but the pegasus at his side understood.

“Fluttershy,” she announced. “We need to rescue Fluttershy.”

Comments

[Foreshadow]

1965390
She was fibbing to excuse herself without causing an upset about what she saw, she didn't actually have to go to work the next day. Sorry for the confusion! I could probably have made it more clear. Glad to hear you're enjoying the story so far, thanks for the comment!

[Atomic Clock]

And thus the plot thickens. I am excited about reading more.

[InsignificantGryffindor]

You're an awesome writer! As thomas_stewart says; The plot thickens.

[Claudia Books]

This is awesome, I need more!!!

[The Slending Angel]

Stars made solid, Light the way through future and passed

...Oh... My... God... The Eye of Harmony... They were in... A Time Capsule... But how...?

[GordonFreebrony]

I see what you did there with the hat and the path. Good foreshadowing.